MedFlight Visit Gives PA Students Up-Close Look at Patient Care in the Sky

Ohio Dominican University’s Physician Assistant Studies master’s students are trained to provide medical treatment and care anytime, anywhere – that includes in the sky.

Jul 31, 2018

Ohio Dominican University’s Physician Assistant Studies master’s students are trained to provide medical treatment and care anytime, anywhere – that includes in the sky.

Approximately fifty students participating in their final Emergency Medicine class of the semester had a unique opportunity to experience a MedFlight helicopter up close as it landed on ODU’s athletic practice field on Friday, July 27. During the visit, a MedFlight crew explained the important role that air ambulance services provide when treating and transporting critically ill patients. The crew also highlighted some of the different challenges encountered during flight.

MedFlight is a nonprofit air and ground critical care transportation company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company completes more than 4,000 patient transports each year.

Students were able to ask the crew members questions, climb in the helicopter and examine a MedFlight ground ambulance, which was also on campus.

“It is vital that we offer interprofessional experiences like this to ensure we effectively teach our students best-practice and team-based medicine,” said Shonna Riedlinger, ODU’s PA Program director. “I have worked clinically with some of the flight crew and it is wonderful to have them share their experiences with our students. We’re grateful to MedFlight for their outreach education to Ohio Dominican University’s PA program.”